Mafia Princess

Chapter One-Hundred Sixty-One

Twilight...not mine (sigh).

Chapter 161

EPOV

I picked up my broken girl and carried her to the bathroom. Charlie followed me and he held a fresh hospital gown. "Charlie, my co-worker, Rose, dropped off some my clothes for Bella," I said as I turned on the shower. Her cast was obliterated and I just knew that she was going to have surgery on her leg again. Bella was almost catatonic, leaning against me limply. She made only a quiet wailing sound that just broke my heart.

"I'll let you take care of her," Charlie whispered, his voice shattered. I nodded and sat her on the toilet, removing her soiled hospital gown. I tossed it on the ground. She was littered scars and wounds along her torso from her ordeal and her abdominal surgery. Thankfully, her abdominal surgery was done laproscopically, but there were four or five tiny incisions on her belly. Because of her surgeries, I couldn't put her in the shower, but I could wash her as best as I could. Tears pricked my eyes as I saw the extent of her injuries. They had ruined her. Regardless, she was still beautiful. She will always be beautiful to me.

"Little One, can you hear me?" I asked, taking her face into my hands. Her eyes were empty and she was staring at nothing. "Baby, don't go away. I know you're scared. Please, stay with me." Still nothing.

There was a quiet knock at the door. I beckoned them to come in after I covered my girl. Shelly, the nurse who was Bella's champion, poked her head inside. From the look of it, she was off. Her hair was down and she was wearing some jeans. "I heard what happened. I was getting my paycheck and heard through the grapevine that there was a brawl in telemetry. I ran into Dr. Cope and she was on a tirade. Do you need help?"

"Can you remove these IVs and the foley bag?" I asked.

"Step out, Edward," she said. I stood up, turning to go and Bella reacted, wrapping her arms weakly around my waist. "Or not," she chuckled. "It'll be crowded in here, but we'll make it work." She gently pushed me to the side so she could remove the IV. Placing a bandage on her skin, she moved to the foley bag, which was not attached but the tube was still inside of her. Carefully removing it, Bella sighed as she let her bladder flow into the toilet. Shelly tossed the tube into the biohazard bin. "You're all good. Be careful of the sutures on her hip and her torso. Seat her in the shower with her legs out. You'll be fine. I'll be close by if you need help."

"Thanks, Shelly," I said as I carefully placed Bella in the shower. Shelly ducked out of the bathroom. I shirked my shirt and picked up the shower head, running it over Bella's skin. "I'm here, baby. I'll always be here for you." She whimpered, pressing her cheek against my chest. I washed her body as best as I could before turning to her hair. Gently, I massaged her head like mine was earlier. She sniffled, scratching at my body as I rinsed the suds from her long, brown locks. Turning off the water, I wrapped her in a fluffy white towel and put her back on the closed toilet.

Shakily, she ran her fingers through my hair, fat tears falling onto her cheeks. "You do love me," she said, her voice weak and unsure.

"I always will, Little One," I whispered, looking up at her.

"You came back," she choked out.

"I promised I would if you needed me. I would have been here sooner, but the salon made me relinquish my phone," I snorted, trying to play off my own anguish at seeing her being held down. "I'm getting you out of here, Bella. You need to be closer to home."

"Can't I just go home? I want to go home. I want to go home with my da..." she stopped and turned green. I quickly held up the garbage can as she threw up, forcefully into it. "I couldn't tell him. Edward..."

"Shhhh, baby," I crooned, pulling her into my arms. My heart jolted as I felt her bare skin against mine. My dick, the opportunistic fucker that he was, decided to get excited, too. I willed him to calm down, mentally chastising my sex drive for its poor timing. She was trembling again and I was fearful that it was due to our combined nakedness. No dummy, she's cold. Put some clothes on her! I reached down for my button down shirt, tossing it around her tiny body. "Can I get you some real clothes?"

"You're not leaving the room, right?" she squeaked.

"No, Bella. I'm going just outside to get some underwear, loose-fitting plaid pants and a Henley for you. My co-worker, Rose, dropped them off for you. Well, they're mine since you've got this to deal with," I said, pointing to her cast. "She had a key to my condo."

"That's even better," she murmured, looking up at me shyly. I slipped out of the bathroom and picked up a pair of plain panties, my sleep pants and a Henley t-shirt. Charlie handed me a hairbrush, a toothbrush and toothpaste. I smiled at him gratefully. Back inside, I helped Bella into the panties and the shirt. We left the pants off since the cast was all sorts of fucked up. I brushed her hair while she scoured her mouth. Scooping her up into my arms, I placed her onto the recliner and covered her with a warm blanket that Shelly brought in. Dr. Cope walked in with the head of orthopedics, who examined Bella's leg. They had completely removed the cast, causing Bella to throw up again. As feared, she was going to have to have another surgery but it would be completed at Virginia Mason. Within an hour, Bella was in a helicopter, with me along with her. Jasper and Alice were going to take my car back to Seattle with Charlie, after it was picked up from the impound lot.

I got towed for parking in a handicapped spot.

Once we arrived in Seattle and in a private, cushy room at Virginia Mason, Bella relaxed, sort of. Charlie wouldn't be here for another few hours. She was still on edge about everything.

"Bella, you need to calm down," I said as I took her hand.

"Everything's...Edward, I couldn't tell him and I ended up in the mother of all panic attacks," she said, her eye wide.

"You were in the mother of all panic attacks because of the assholes who were 'trying' to help you," I deadpanned.

"I couldn't stop, Edward. No matter what they did, I was in that god-awful warehouse," she said, her eyes dropping to my chest. "I wasn't even aware of what happened or how you ended up holding me."

"Charlie called and texted me. I came as soon as I could. I'm sorry that I couldn't..."I trailed off.

"Edward, again, you saved me," she whispered, covering my lips with her hand. "God, you were amazing. Not many people would have dealt with my special brand of crazy or my sickness. But, you did."

"It's because I love you, Bella. I know you're probably not ready to say it back, but I can't help the way I feel. You need to know how I feel and what I did to get to you," I said. "I'd do it again in a heartbeat, too."

"I'd do the same for you, Edward," she murmured, staring into my eyes.

"What?" I asked.

"I said I'd do the same for you. I know we're starting over, fresh and rebuilding our friendship and relationship. If anything, my feelings for you have grown exponentially. It's not like we can jump into bed or fuck like bunnies or anything..."

"Bella, I never 'fucked you,'" I said wryly. She smacked me.

"Shut up, you know what I mean. I need to go slow. Start from scratch," she blushed. "But, there is one thing that I know for certain."

"What's that?"

"I love you, too," she said, giving me a timid grin.

A/N: Heroward....le sigh...she loves him. He loves her. But, Charlie still doesn't know. That's coming up next...Leave me some!

wٴ